Bike/ped-only connections: There’s a railroad tie staircase into one of the apartment complexes at the end of the road. There are also a couple of muddy game trails leading off into the woods from the end. One of the trails seems to connect to an apartment complex off Mountain Park Blvd SW. The other dead ends in a feral teenager nest/trash dump after a few dozen yards.

Green: The east end of the street is opposite the Issaquah Creek corridor. The west end abuts a wooded lower slope of Squak Mountain. Street trees and nearby Gibson Park.

February 12, 2012

The newest street in Issaquah at the moment. Built in 2011, this street gave a much-needed additional vehicle crossing of the I-90 corridor with the added benefit of being the only one we have which doesn’t also have to deal with freeway-bound traffic. The city plans to extend this street north along what is now 221st Pl SE all the way to SE 56th St. This would also connect to another new road being proposed which would extend SE 62nd St across the wetlands and Issaquah Creek into the south end of the Pickering Place development. Map.

Length: 2020 feet. There’s a second approximately 1000 foot segment along the old Zetec access road which has been restricted to one-way northbound with parking along one side.

Sidewalks: 64%. Permeable cement except at intersections. Full length on the west edge. From Gilman to just under the freeway on the east edge where it connects to the East Lake Sammamish Trail (ELST) which runs parallel and adjacent to the north portion of the street. At the time of this writing, the ELST is still gravel. Also the west edge sidewalk is closed to pedestrian traffic by signage north of the Pickering Trail since there is currently nowhere for pedestrians to go at the intersection with SE 62nd St.

Bike lanes: No. I suspect that the thinking was that cyclists would use the ELST once it is paved. Currently most cyclists seem to ride on the street despite the lack of any significant shoulder for most of the length of the street. It will be interesting to see if this changes once the ELST is paved.

Bike/ped-only connections: East Lake Sammamish Trail parallels the street and intersects with the Pickering Trail with pedestrian access to Pickering Place and the Issaquah Farmers’ Market at the Pickering Barn. ELST also intersects with the Preston Trail below the freeway. The south end of the street gives access to the Gilman Blvd edible landscaping trail. East of the street north of the freeway there is pedestrian access to the parking lot of the Meadow Creek office complex.

Green: Quite a bit though most is zoned for development. The triangular lot between Gilman, ELST, and 4th Ave is largely wooded behind Gilman Station. North of the freeway, to the east is green space behind the old used car lot on East Lake Sammamish Parkway. To the west is restored wetland adjacent to Issaquah Creek. The north end bridges the North fork of Issaquah Creek.

Potential improvements: As a new street it is in good repair. It’s unfortunate that bike lanes were not included in the design. Formalized pedestrian connections to the Meadow Creek complex parking lot would be well-used. Connections to the ELST should be reviewed after it is paved.

February 5, 2012

A quiet residential street near downtown. The neighborhood is in transition from single-family homes on large lots to lot-filling duplexes. So density will approximately double over the next several decades. Map.

Potential improvements: Good candidate for lowered speed limit when that becomes legal. Sidewalks could use improvement, but it’s relatively low priority since it’s mostly safe to walk in the street. Crosswalk between Memorial Field and the north side of the street is in ill repair.